The present invention relates generally to ramp assemblies installed in vehicles to facilitate transportation of wheelchair occupants.
A growing concern exists for persons who are physically challenged or otherwise have limited mobility. That concern has given rise to the development of lifts and ramps for transporting occupied wheelchairs, and the like, in and out of vehicles. Typically, these lifts and ramps are stored in the vehicles when not in use and deployed when it is necessary to provide passenger access.
Proposed wheelchair ramps have included xe2x80x9cvertically stowedxe2x80x9d ramps which are pivotally connected at a lower edge to the vehicle floor. Such ramps are typically stored in an upright vertical position and are deployed by swinging the ramp outwardly from the vehicle about the bottom edge. In these types of ramps, the platform moves through a substantial range of motion, the upper edge starting from a relatively high position and ending at a relatively low position. With such a substantial range of motion, there may be undesirable motions or displacements in which the platform may move to unwanted positions, or even free fall through space.
Proposed wheelchair ramps have also included xe2x80x9chorizontally stowedxe2x80x9d ramps which translate from below the vehicle floor in a horizontal stowed position to a deployed position where the ramp extends beyond the vehicle. Although these ramps may be designed differently than the proposed xe2x80x9cvertically stowedxe2x80x9d wheelchair ramps, the structure of the vehicle may have to be modified to enable storage of the ramp in a horizontal stowed position. Furthermore, when the xe2x80x9chorizontally stowedxe2x80x9d ramp is installed, its installation may be obstructed by vehicle components such as a door track, a door threshold, a structural support bar or similar vehicle structure. This makes installation difficult. Consequently, there exists a need for a ramp assembly which is relatively simple in design and structure, can fit into a compact space in the vehicle with minimal required modification of the structural support system of the vehicle, and deploys in a manner that avoids obstruction by typical vehicle structure.
During the storage configuration of the ramp assembly, the vibrations resulting from the vehicle operation can cause the ramp assembly to bounce or vibrate. The constant vibration can cause noise inside the vehicle. It is desirable to provide a ramp assembly having a locking mechanism that effectively locks the ramp assembly in place when the ramp assembly is in a storage configuration thereby reducing the noise of a vibrating ramp assembly, yet does not require additional controls to overcome the lock and move the ramp towards a deployed state.
A ramp assembly is disclosed for installation in a vehicle. The ramp assembly includes a ramp platform having a stowed configuration in the vehicle and a deployed configuration extending from the vehicle and a lift and lock mechanism configured to lock the ramp platform in place when the platform is in a stowed configuration and to facilitate the lifting of the platform when the platform is deployed.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. It is to be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not limitation. Many changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.